Locked Up Heart
by TGtornadoe
Summary: A strange, isolated pony stumbles into Ponyville and has trouble excepting the everything's alright attitude of the town. A story of friendship, bravery and accepting the past in order to move onto the future. Read and discover how the pony's will unlock a locked up heart. Rated T just in case. Reviews are appreciated. (May contain spoilers to certain episode)
1. Chapter 1

(Long story short. I saw jokes about it on the internet, then one day I watched an episode just for a laugh... it was surprisingly well done for a kids show and I soon came up with this little story, enjoy... apologies if some mistakes are made with certain aspects of characters)

LOCKED UP HEART

Chapter 1

Cold

It was a cold winter night in Ponyville. The moon that Luna raised was a bright full moon which combined with the remarkably cloudless night left Ponyville lit with a beautiful blue glow. All was quiet, nearly everypony had retired to their houses... except one.

A dark grey pony with a black mane and tail with red stripes, who wore a ratty brown robe, riddled with holes and tears in the thin fabric. She stumbled along through the snow, nearly succumbing to the cold. The pony approached a cottage built into a tree and stopped in front of it.

The windows were dark, implying the inhabitants were already resting for the day ahead.

The grey Pony continued on, not wishing to disturb the peacefulness of the scene.

The pony kept walking only stopping to shiver, or look around. She eventually felt her knees begin to buckle and she knew she only had minutes to find someplace warm to stay the night. The pony began to a stumbling, disoriented sprint through the snow, barely able to keep her eyes open, as she desperately tried to find a warm place.

She squinted and saw a window with a slight orange glow.

The Pony redirected herself to head straight towards the light. She drew closer to the light when suddenly it disappeared. Through blurry vision and tired eyes she could only make out the shape of what she was running towards.

The shape became larger and the pony did not consider how fast she was going at the moment. She suddenly impacted something hard and wooden.

The pony attempted to stand but her legs failed her. She heard two muffled voices coming from inside the structure she had collided with and then nothing... no sound...nothing.

The pony curled her legs up, attempting to warm herself even the slightest bit. She looked up to see the object she had struck was nothing more than a door with a small window. The pony then noticed a small orange glow light glowing from the window which became brighter within seconds. Although to the grey pony the seconds seemed like hours, the sound of hooves could be heard clomping towards the door.

The grey pony weakly lifted one of her hooves and lightly knocked on the door, barely making a sound.

The door cracked open, causing the orange light to shine outwards. The grey Pony looked to the slightly opened door, then looked up to see a light purple unicorn peeking her head out the door.

The grey pony made a weak squeak and the purple pony instantly looked down to see her. The pony then opened the door completely and spread her wings in alarm. The pony looked like and angel silhouetted by the light shining behind her.

With the door open the grey pony could also see a small purple dragon standing next to her, holding a candle.

To the grey pony it was a treat simply to be bathed in such a warm glow.

The pony we all know as Twilight Sparkle quickly said to her dragon companion "Spike help me get her inside"

Spike set his candle on the ground and joined Twilight in pulling the pony inside the Golden Oak library. Once inside the grey pony began to uncontrollable shiver, her eyes were shut and her teeth chattered loudly.

Twilight and Spike then frantically searched for every blanket they could find and wrapped the pony in a toasty warm shell of fabric.

The ponies shivering lessened a bit and she opened one light blue eye to examine her surroundings. She saw the purple pony with a worried expression on her face and behind her was a series of large book cases carved into the walls.

"Spike go to the hospital and get help" Twilight said to her companion.

Spike then grabbed a winter coat and ran outside as fast as his small dragon legs would take him.

The grey pony attempted to speak only whispering out "Thanks"

Twilight then said with great care in her voice "Ssshhh... Rest now"

The pony did not obey, partly because she could not hear Twilight over her own teeth chattering "I'm Lucy ... Lockheart... just passing through"

Lucy laid her head on the ground and fell into a deep sleep, although Twilight assumed her to be dead for a moment and attempted to resuscitate her with a badly performed mouth to mouth, luckily Lucy was to deep in sleep to have any reaction to this.

To Be Continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Playing Doctor

Dreams are often wondrous. They allow us to leave our world and explore another realm with limitless possibilities... then there are nightmares. Frightening, demented reminders of what we fear and the pain that has been dealt to us in the past.

Sometimes nightmares are cruelly realistic and our only escape is to wake up...but for some, life is also a nightmare and the dream is simply a reminder of why.

Lucy the grey pony awoke with a light headache, pains in her legs and still wearing her robe. She looked around and saw that not only she was in someone's bedroom she was also laying in someone's bed, covered up in blankets. The room was lit only by the sunlight that shined in through a window although this light made it easy enough for anypony to see.

The door cracked open and Spike peeked his head in.

The grey Pony and the dragon exchanged a quick glance. Spike smiled, glad their guest had finally woke up.

Spike turned and called "Hey Twilight she woke up"

A clatter of hooves came up the stairs and Twilight said to her assistant "Ssshhh... Not so loud Spike" Twilight opened the door a little further and asked softly "May I come in?"

Lucy replied flatly "I'm assuming this is your room so... Yeah... you may enter your own room" Her voice did not sound dainty nor sweet, with no emotion driving the words resulting in her voice always sounding bland and indifferent.

Twilight entered with a small smile on her face and asked "How are you feeling?"

Lucy answered "Let's see. I was out in the freezing cold all night, I'm in a bit of pain and now I'm in a strangers bed... so in other words no I wouldn't consider myself alright"

Twilight then said sympathetically "Oh well, that's too bad. The doctor said that you should probably take it easy, since you had moderate frost bite in your legs"

Lucy wiggled her legs a little bit; with every movement they tingled "That explains the leg pains... Did I run into your door?"

Spike replied "Yep, sounded like you hit it pretty hard to. But if you hadn't then we probably never would have heard you and you'd be..."

Twilight quickly glared at Spike to make him stop talking.

Lucy then finished Spike's sentence "I would have died in the cold and you would have found me frozen on your doorstep... cheery"

Twilight looked to her dragon companion and said "Spike, why don't you go find something for our guest to eat"

Spike gave a quick, comical salute, then left the two ponies.

"Did the doc say anything specific about how long it'll be till I can move around?" Lucy asked.

"Well, she said that you can walk" Replied Twilight " But you shouldn't travel anywhere for about about four days or so"

Lucy sat up and said "That's alright, I'll just get out of your mane"

Lucy got out of the bed but fell to the ground. Twilight rushed over to try and help her up but Lucy squirmed away, giving Twilight the hint she didn't need her help. With great effort Lucy got to her hooves and stood, although her knees still wobbled a bit.

During all of this Lucy's mane had shifted to cover the left side of her face, revealing a red scar on her right eye.

Twilight then asked "Did you get that from hitting the door?"

Lucy noticed her mane and quickly flipped it to the right side of her face covering the scar. She then replied harshly "It's none of your business..." Lucy gave Twilight a quick look over and asked "Hey, are you an alicorn?"

Twilight nodded.

"Then I'm definitely out of here" Lucy took a step and cringed from the pain.

Twilight then said sternly "I don't know why you're in such a hurry, but you need to rest"

Lucy angrily sighed and glared at Twilight as she slowly crawled back into the bed.

Spike then returned with a tray of treats. "Okay we got a few apples, a juice box and this half eaten cupcake"

Lucy's glare disappeared and she said "A half eaten cupcake"

Spike was expecting a thank you. He then sarcastically replied "Well we're kind short stocked on food at the moment. If you had crashed into the door on grocery day then you'd be in for a treat"

Lucy let out a barely audible chuckle and said with a slight smile "Thanks"

Spike handed Lucy the food. Lucy stared at the food for a moment, licked her lips then gobbled down the apples, ate the half cupcake with a single chomp and guzzled the juice box in a single sip. The entire display took little more than 8 seconds.

Spike stared at Lucy, his eyes wide with awe "Why'd you eat so fast?"

Twilight whispered to Spike "That's rude"

Spike defended his comment "What? I said it as a compliment"

Twilight then said to Lucy, obviously embarrassed by Spike's comment "Sorry about Spike, he just says what ever pops into his head sometimes"

Spike's expression slunk into an unhappy frown, he walked to the door and asked before leaving "Let me know if you want a book or a four act play... Oops just said what popped into my head again, sorry about that" Spike shut the door behind him.

Lucy covered her face as she quietly giggled at Spikes joke.

Twilight nervously chuckled, then quickly noticed Lucy's attention had been taken away by something. "What are you looking at?" Twilight asked.

Lucy stared at the window and replied "Their was somepony in the window. She was all pink and had a really big smile"

Twilight's eyes widened as she knew who Lucy was talking about and knew what would soon be coming. Twilight thought to herself "Not now"

The door then flung open seemingly by itself as there appeared to be no pony on the other side.

The two looked at the door; both confused as to what was happening.

Lucy then heard a soft, squeaky voice come from beside her "Do you think it was a ghost?"

Lucy turned her head to see the energetic Pinkie Pie laying beside her with a huge smile on her face.

Pinkie Pie being unintentionally creepy whispered "Welcome to Ponyville"

Lucy's jaw dropped and she scooted herself as far as she could get away from Pinkie, almost falling off the bed. Pinkie Pie then bounced out of the bed and began to hop around, showing her excitement of seeing a new pony in town.

Lucy stared at Pinkie Pie, unamused by her wackiness.

"Uh... Pinkie Pie" Twilight said in an attempt to get Pinkie's attention. "Lucy is trying to rest and..."

Pinkie Pie stopped bouncing and stared at Lucy "Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh my. You look like you could use a feel good cupcake" Pinkie then ran to the window, opened it and jumped out. "Be right back" she yelled.

Lucy stared at the window, her eyes wide in astonishment "What was that?"

Twilight then explained "That was my friend Pinkie Pie, she's... easily excitable"

Lucy frowned slightly and asked "Did she say she's coming back"

Just as Lucy finished speaking Pinkie Pie bounced back in through the window, now wearing a white coat and a stethoscope around her neck, while balancing a beautifully decorated chocolate cupcake on her head, with white icing, covered in pink, yellow and blue sprinkles which were arranged to make a smiley face.

Pinkie then began to examine Lucy, going so far as to check her heart beat with the stethoscope.

"Pinkie Pie, I don't think you're helping" Said Twilight.

Pinkie Pie looked over to Twilight with a comically stern expression and asked "Who's the Doctor here?"

"Not you" Twilight said as her patience for her random friend began to disappear.

Pinkie Pie then began to talk back and forth with herself.

"Doctor there's no hope!" Pinkie said in a high pitched and frightened tone.

"There's still one chance" Pinkie said in her normal voice.

Squeaky voice Pinkie screamed "You don't mean!"

Regular Pinkie heroically said "Oh, I mean... The super duper get well friendship cupcake!"

Squeaky voice Pinkie yelled "But that killed the last three patients!"

Pinkie Pie whispered to Lucy out of character "Don't worry that's not true" Pinkie then returned to her dramatization "We have no choice" Pinkie then grabbed the cupcake and slowly moved it towards Lucy's mouth and said "Here comes the choochoo train... choochoooooooooooooooo"

Lucy simply stared at Pinkie, completely dumbfounded by the ponies bizarre acts.

Pinkie Pie whispered "This works better if you take a bite of the cupcake... otherwise it's just awkward"

Lucy hesitantly took a bite of the cupcake, taking time to savour the treat. Lucy's expression remained blank.

Lucy swallowed, then stated "It's okay... I guess"

Pinkie Pie's face froze and one of her eyes began to twitch and Pinkie said whilst trying to hold back her shock "Okay...Okay"

"It's a cupcake..." Said Lucy unaware of why Pinkie was seemingly so upset "What did you expect?" She asked.

Pinkie Pie's smile quickly shrunk down to an awkward smirk then shot back up into her usual grin.

Pinkie shrugged and said "So ya don't like super amazing, tasty, scrumptious, delicious cupcakes. I'll find something you like if it takes me your whole life" Pinkie then bounced backwards out the door, closing the door behind her.

After a few moments a loud clattering sound came from the library and Pinkie called up to Twilight "Don't worry I'll come back and clean all this up"

Twilight smiled and shook her head "That's Pinkie Pie for ya" Twilight's expression grew less positive as she heard another crashing noise "She takes some getting used to. But once ya do" Another crash interrupted Twilight's speech and she groaned "You'll wonder how you ever got along without her"

"You don't seem to like her much" Lucy commented.

Twilight then said "No. It's just typical friend stuff. You go through the good and the bad together and you don't hold grudges"

Spike could then be heard yelling in confusion "What in Equestria happened in here!?"

Twilight then let out an awkward laugh.

Lucy stared at the cupcake and frowned.

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked.

Their was a long pause before Lucy replied, in a depressed tone "I...I... didn't hurt her feelings did I?"

Twilight smiled and shook her head "No, don't be ridiculous. Half of the fun for Pinkie Pie is the challenge of making everyone smile"

Lucy looked down at her swollen legs and asked "Four days or so huh?"

"That's what the Doctor said" Replied Twilight.

Lucy's right eye twitched and she said in a harsh tone "Then get out of here so I can rest"

Twilight, didn't understand what she had done to deserve such aggression but did as Lucy asked and walked to the door.

Lucy sighed and hid herself under the blankets but left her eyes exposed.

Lucy then said in a much softer tone "Twilight"

Twilight turned her head to look at Lucy, who's eyes did no favours in hiding her regret.

"Thank you...for saving me" Said Lucy.

Twilight's smiled a soft caring smile and said "No thanks needed... but greatly appreciated" Twilight then said before leaving "Try to get some sleep, okay"

Twilight then softly shut the door behind her... then yelled "How did she get that on the ceiling! Spike help me clean this up"

Lucy laughed softly, then said to herself "Sleep is the last thing I want"

...

For a half hour Lucy managed to fend off her fatigue... she needed sleep, her body craved it... but it would be too painful. Too many bad memories... too many cruel twists of fate...

Too many nightmares...

To Be Continued...


	3. Chapter 3

(Note: I apologize if I mess up the geography of certain things. Such as writing rooms with doors, or windows that they have never had in the show. Example: I have recently realized that Twilight's room has never had a door, but since I've already written that in, I will still state that there is a door. Thanks for reading)

Chapter 3

Night time in Ponyville was a sight that could only be described as peaceful. Everypony had already retired to their homes, to rest after a long, cold winter day. Many were already lost in wondrous dreams.

Older pony's dreamed of good memories, or future fortunes while young fillies and colts dreamed of acquiring their cutie marks and learning what their special talents were.

Lucy's dream was not so pleasant.

(Lucy's P.O.V)

I run... nothing else. I don't blink, I don't breath, I don't think. I run toward nothing but a black expanse of emptiness. I feel myself running faster than I ever have before, as the wind flows through my mane a joy I have long since forgotten sweeps over me. I smile and look up to the sky as a bright flash fills the air.

"What was that" I said as I closed my eyes and ducked my head to avoid burning my eyes. Seconds later... seconds later I opened my eyes and I suddenly attempt to stop. I turn my head to the left as a I desperately try to redirect myself away from an obstacle I do not see at first see, but my instincts instruct me to avoid. Something hard an wooden strikes my face and I tumble to the ground, skinning my knees, I am already crying my eyes out before I even stop skidding. I stop and hold my eye as it bleeds and blood soaked tears fall from my face onto the ground. The blood and tears create a reflective pool and I see myself crying. I cover my face and sob; after a few moments I stare into the pool again and I see a dry, scabbed scar over my eye. I looked like a monster.

I think to myself "Where are my friends? Why have they not come to help me? Friends are supposed to be there for you when you need them, so where were they?"

My sadness turns to anger and I strike the pool, a few moments passed and the pool settled again and I now see myself as I am now... but I am not alone. Something in the reflection urges me to turn around and I see a monstrous figure with a large horn and gigantic wings, reaching a hoof out to me. I scream and ...

"Lucy" a muffled, familiar voice echoed through the dream.

(Exit Lucy's P.O.V)

Lucy awoke to see sunlight shining through a window, illuminating the room. The entire night had passed during Lucy's dream, although to her it seemed like mere minutes.

"Are you okay in there?" Twilight asked from the other side of the door.

Lucy did not respond and instead took note of her current state. She was half falling off the bed, with her front legs covering her face as if to shield herself from some beast and her pillow was drenched in sweat.

"May I come in?" Twilight asked.

"No" Lucy replied, as she collected herself and flipped the pillow over to a dry side "Go away... I'm trying to sleep"

Twilight had heard Lucy bumping and crashing around from down in the library and did not believe that the noise was simply a result of Lucy trying to sleep "It's 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Are you sick, should I go get a doctor?"

It was only Lucy's second day under the care of Twilight and Spike but her disposition of solitude left anything but necessities as mere annoyances "No! I'm fine, just leave me alone!" Lucy had yelled quite a bit louder than she had meant to.

A brief moment of silence filled the time between Twilight's next words.

"Okay" Twilight said, with a mixture of confusion and worry.

Lucy let out a sigh of relief and flopped onto her back. Although a question quickly came to Lucy's mind; What is she going to do next? She couldn't just walk down the stairs after yelling like that, she couldn't go back to sleep and she couldn't leave yet. All she could do was wait for herself to heal and then be on her way. Although it would take a lot of motionless, and uneventful hours.

Downstairs Twilight's mind was far more occupied.

Twilight worriedly paced back and forth in front of Spike, who sat at a table, snacking on a emerald.

Twilight began to rant "What if she's having some sort of an attack, or what if she's dying, or what if she's dead! Should I just break in and check?"

Spike was not as concerned as Twilight "She's probably just irritable from her frost bite"

"But she was making so much noise. It sounded like she was running a marathon in her sleep. Oh no! What if she developed some kind of flu or something and I let her die. Who wants a princess who let's somepony just die"

Spike swallowed the last bit of emerald and said with an oddly serious tone "Twilight look at me"

Twilight took a breath to calm down and directed her attention to Spike.

Spike then said "I'm going to be honest; sometimes you're breakdowns can be amusing. But when you start talking about you not being a good princess, then you're going a bit too far"

Twilight wasn't quite sure how to respond "Uh... thanks... what do you mean by amusing?"

Spike ignored the question and continued "Never mind what I think. If you were going to be a bad princess then you wouldn't even care about Lucy and would not worry about her problems at all"

Twilight was confused as to what Spike was trying to get across to her "Wait... are you saying that it's good or bad for me to worry about these things too much?"

Spike shrugged and replied "I don't know; but I got your mind off of it didn't I?"

Twilight let out laugh and hugged her assistant "Thanks Spike... although I'm not sure what for"

Twilight then looked up at the clock and noticed it nearing the time for her session with the Cutie Mark Crusaders (Twilight Time).

"You don't suppose, Lucy would want to meet the Cutie Mark Crusaders?" Twilight asked Spike.

Spike thought for a moment, then replied "Hmm... maybe we should just leave her alone for awhile"

Twilight looked up the stairs and thought about how Lucy had yelled "Yeah, you're probably right. Come on, lets get things ready"

The two then began to prepare for the arrival of the trio.

A half hour went by as Lucy attempted to occupy herself with... nothing (that's the problem ya see). Lucy simply stared out the window, longingly awaiting her body to recover; although she wasn't entirely sure why. She would simply keep walking until she found what she was looking for ... but what that was, she wasn't really sure. (that's perfect... just perfect)

Suddenly a loud crashing sound roused Lucy from her state of unbelievable boredom. Lucy raised her ears and listened. Lucy could hear murmurs coming from the library. Lucy stepped out of the bed, and stood with much less difficulty than before. Lucy then began to walk towards the door and once there she pressed her ear up to it and listened.

"Sorry Twilight" A squeaky young voice said.

"Ya shouldn't a tried to levitate something that could break" Another more accented voice said.

Lucy wasn't sure what was happening on the floor below her and at the moment she didn't care much at all... until.

A third voice stated "Well I guess you're not getting a cuitemark for levitation"

Lucy then cracked the door open and peaked her head out to see what was going on.

In the library was Twilight, instructing three fillies on various things.

A yellow filly with a red mane and a bow on the back of her head was currently reading a book of potions; an orange filly with a spiky purple mane was busy modifying a scooter; a white filly with a lavender and pink mane was levitating a broom to clean up the glass she had dropped.

"Sorry Twilight" The white filly said.

"It's alright Sweetie Belle, I remember how hard it was for me to get my magic under control"

"Sure you did, Ms. Alicorn" Lucy thought to herself sarcastically. Lucy peeked her head out further and watched the young unicorn smile as she swept the glass. "How could that filly be so happy after failing like that"

Before Lucy knew it she was slowly descending the stairs.

Scootaloo heard the clacking of Lucy's hooves and turned to look at her, meeting her with a smile, while Lucy shot the flightless Pegasus filly a cold stare.

Scootaloo then asked Twilight "Uh... Twilight who's that?"

Twilight looked and smiled, seeing that Lucy had gotten out of bed and was moving around.

Twilight then introduced Lucy to the cutie mark crusaders and vice versa "Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Applebloom, this is Lucy, she's staying here while she recovers from frost bite. Lucy, this is Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Applebloom"

The three fillies smiled at Lucy, although Lucy looked back at them with a disgruntled frown, then said "Let me guess, Scootaloo has a scooter, Applebloom has something to do with apples and Sweetie Belle..." Lucy looked at Sweetie Belle and the filly widened her smile a bit more "and Sweetie Belle is the sickeningly cute one"

Sweetie Belle's expression slunk into a confused frown, as did the other two crusaders to a lesser extent.

Sweetie Belle then quietly asked her friends "Sickeningly cute is a bad thing isn't it?"

"Sickeningly cute is still sweet" replied Scootaloo.

Sweetie Belle considered the logic and chose to accept it as a good thing.

Lucy then asked Twilight "What is this a library or a day care?"

Twilight chose to overlook the insulting nature of Lucy's comment and replied "It's a library and a place for learning. I'm teaching the girls various things so they can earn their cutie marks"

The three fillies then yelled "We're the cutie Mark Crusaders!"

Lucy simply continued to stare at the three, with an unimpressed frown and let out a sigh.

"I'm going back up stairs" Lucy said as she turned away from the fillies.

"Wait a minute" Said Applebloom. "Could ya give us some advice on how to get our cuite marks"

Lucy stopped and turned her head slightly, not looking the filly in the eye and replied "Make sure you get what you want"

"Well, what's your cuite mark?" Scootaloo asked.

"I'd rather not show you" Lucy said as she ascended the stairs

"Please" Sweetie Belle adorably pleaded.

"No!" Lucy barked at the trio.

The three fillies smiles slunk to frightened frowns and they all took a few steps back.

Lucy's expression turned cross after seeing the reaction and grumbled to herself as she hurried up the stairs.

"I didn't mean to make her mad" Sweetie Bell said to Twilight.

"It wasn't your fault Sweetie Belle. I'm sure Lucy's just aggravated because she's not feeling well" Twilight assured the fillies "Maybe we should call it a day"

The Crusaders nodded in agreement, thanked Twilight for the lessons and left.

Twilight didn't believe her own reasoning of why Lucy had yelled and she could only assume it had something to do with Lucy's cutie mark, something that Twilight herself hadn't seen yet. But why such a reaction, how bad could a cutie mark possibly be.

Upstairs, Lucy had taken off her black robe and strewn it across the bed. She stared at her cutie mark, a red heart with a lock attached to it.

"It's not fair" Lucy said to herself, her own inexpressive voice hiding the depression that flowed through her.

Lucy put pressure on each of her legs, testing how much they could take before hurting. The pain was still noticeable but not problematic to movement

"2 more days...2 more then I'm gone"

To Be Continued...


End file.
